On Wednesday, internet users fell for a supposed study that found Internet Explorer users have lower IQ’s than users of other browsers.

After CNN and other reputable outlets posted the story online, it exploded. Within 48 hours, the story had been retweeted, posted on Facebook and referenced hundreds of thousands of times.

Issaquah-based computer security and communications
consultant Christopher Budd says the story got so much
attention because it seemed legitimate enough, thanks to a bogus website, easily understood statistics and a “healthy dose of snarkiness.”

Budd says because it started to spread so fast,
reporters didn’t have or take the time to check its
accuracy. Online media outlets make their money based on the number of times users click on their site.

“At the end of the day, they’re only following the clicks
and the eyeballs,” Budd says. “People that complain about the nature of media need to look in the mirror.”

So what makes so many of us want to share a story like
this? It starts with what we believe.

“So if people believe Microsoft ‘sucks’, then they’re much more likely to believe that people who use a Microsoft product are less intelligent,” says Julie Moos, the online director at the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism think tank.

A recent study supports Moos’ statement.

Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York found if just 10 percent of the population believes
something, their belief will always be adopted by the
majority of the society.

Moos says it’s an important lesson for journalists, and
anyone else quick to hit the share button on a story.

“I think it shows how important it is for everyone to
question their assumptions. Because this story is an
example of how easy it is to believe something that
confirms an assumption,” Moos says.